Even If It Kills You
by TheNextFolchart
Summary: "I take care of my family. I'll make you amazing, cousin. Even if it kills you." /The rise and fall of Evan Rosier. Written for challenges on HPFC


_[Death Eater Competition: Evan Rosier]_

_[Disney Character Competition: The Hunter - write about a Death Eater. Prompt - suffering]_

_[Book Thief Quotes Competition: "Even death has a heart."]_

_[Legendary Gods & Goddesses Challenge: Fuujin - write about someone who witnesses something new]_

_[Oh The Thinks You Can Think Challenge: Sir Alaric - write about an organization (such as the Death Eaters)]_

_[Interesting Words Challenge: Recumbentibus - the knockout or ending blow, physical or verbal; the final, winning argument]_

_[Duct Tape Challenge: Spiders - write about someone who creeps you out.]_

_[Off The Block Competition: Freestyle, Extra Hard - place the story somewhere other than Hogwarts, the Ministry, and Diagon Alley.]_

* * *

Evan Rosier was afraid of his cousin.

He hated to admit that, especially since she was a younger than he was, and even more especially because she was a girl, but it was true. All it took was one glare from Bellatrix Black and he was trembling like a wet dog.

And Bella _knew_, that was the worst part of all.

"Evan," she'd said once when they were children - she was twelve, he was fifteen. "What do you think of Cissy's dress?"

Evan squinted out over the dance floor, where Narcissa was dancing with her cousin Sirius. "Her dress?" he repeated blankly. "It's fine."

"Just fine?"

He looked again. Her dress _was _fine. Its white fabric flowed down to her knees, the lace criss-crossing in patterns that looked vaguely like snowflakes. "It's . . . Nice?" he tried.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "I made that dress," she said. "I thought of the design. I used magic to sew it together."

"Oh!" Evan looked at it again. "You'd be a good dress maker," he told her with a smile.

Bellatrix looked at him in horror. "A dress maker?" she repeated. "What do I look like to you, a Squib?"

"No, I - "

"I'm going to be something that _matters_, Evan," she said, turning her attention back to Narcissa - she was still dancing with Sirius, who looked bored out of his mind. "I'm going to do something amazing."

"Okay," Evan said hesitantly. "I'm going to be an auror, I think."

She scoffed. "No, you aren't."

"I'm not?"

"No. You're going to be amazing with me. Trust me. I take care of my family. I'll get you there, cousin. Even if it kills you."

* * *

"Come _on_, Evan."

"I'm not sure if - "

"Don't be a _baby_." Bellatrix dragged him down into the basement. "This is Evan Rosier, my cousin," she announced to the group of people seated around the table. "Some of you may recognize him from your time at Hogwarts. He graduated a few years before I did. Ev, this is Severus Snape - it's his house we're in - Peter Pettigrew, Igor Karkaroff, Lucius Malfoy, and my cousin Regulus Black."

"Hullo," Evan said nervously.

"This is Evan's first Death Eater meeting," Bella explained, motioning for him to sit down. "In his spare time, he's - what, an auror?"

At that word, Lucius drew his wand. "You're an auror?"

Evan raised his hands in surrender. "No! No, I'm not. I - I used to want to be, but I didn't get enough OWLs. I work at Gringotts. I'm in banking."

"He's fine, Malfoy," Bellatrix said with a glare that would've had Evan trembling, but Lucius just rolled his eyes. "Sit _down_, Evan."

Evan sat.

"So, Rosier," Snape drawled. "What makes you want to join the Dark Lord?"

"I - Bellatrix convinced me."

She grinned at him. "I told you I'd lead you to greatness. Look at Reg, here. He joined up because of me, too. I take care of my family. And now we're all going to witness the rise of a new world. _His _world. _Our_ world. Even if it kills us."

(And Evan cheered with the rest of them, even though his stomach felt hard, as if he'd swallowed a stone.)

* * *

"Evan," Bellatrix hissed. "Come _on_."

Evan stumbled after her, trying his best to duck down and avoid being seen. "Bella, I don't think - "

"Shut _up_," she hissed. She peered through the McKinnons' darkened window. "They're asleep," she giggled. "This is going to be _so easy, _Evan!"

"I don't want to kill anyone," he said firmly. "Bella, I want to go _home_."

"Don't be a baby. Just go in there and do your job. Prove yourself to the Dark Lord." She drew her wand. "I'll help you. I'll bring you to greatness, remember? Even if it kills you?"

"I'd rather not be killed."

"You won't be, not if you do your job. He made it easy for you. You only need to kill one of them. I'll take care of the rest."

Evan looked at the window. "I went to school with one of them," he whispered. "I was his _friend._"

"And I went to school with Marlene, and she was a blood traitor with no business existing in our new world. Just _get them._"

And with a little shove, she pushed him toward the window.

As soon as he touched the house, an alarm began to blare. Several dustbins rolled over to Evan and began to beat him - Bellatrix shrieked as the mailbox grew legs and ran over to strangle her - lights flicked on inside the McKinnon house, and one of them came to the door, and then Bellatrix screamed, "_Avada kedavra," _and with a flash of green light and a sickening _thud _the body hit the ground.

"You kill the next one," she ordered, still fighting off the mailbox, but her words were drowned out by the cacophony of _pop_s as a squad of aurors arrived on the scene. "_Avada kedavra," _Bellatrix yelled, and one of them fell. "_Avada kedavra!" _A female auror. "_Avada kedavra!" _A McKinnon who'd come to the door. _"Avada kedavra!_"

"_Stupefy_," one of the aurors cried, but before it could hit her Bellatrix had disapparated.

"You," the tallest auror grunted, grabbing Evan by his robes. "What were you doing here?" Without waiting for an answer, he yanked back Evan's sleeve to reveal his fresh tattoo. "Death Eater," he said. "By order of the Ministry of Magic, I, Alastor Moody, hereby arrest - "

"D-diffindo," Evan stuttered, aiming his wand at his captor's, and Moody howled and dropped him as a slice of his nose was severed from his face.

"_Stupefy,_" he growled, but Evan threw up a shield charm just in time, and began to sprint down the street, thinking all the time that he hadn't wanted this, it was Bellatrix's fault, always her fault, in another life he'd be _with _the aurors, not against them, and his tattoo was burning but he didn't want to go, didn't want to face the Dark Lord or admit his failure, didn't want to be alive, didn't want to be alive, didn't want to be alive -

"_Avada kedavra,_" roared Moody from behind him.

And Evan almost smiled as the recumbentibus hit him.

Even death had a heart.


End file.
